I
really would like to thank all loving teachers of spiritual practices,
in particolar Dorothy MacLean, David Spangler, Judy McAllister, Monica Boni, Marko Pogacnik, Michael
Roads, Dianne Robbins, Vera Nadine, Jamie Sams and others "trees speakers" who have contributed to my "creation
in progress" as a human being and to this page... You are angels!

Here below, you can find some
Tree inspirations, meditations, suggestions to contact these great living beings...
enjoy yourself and be still with Nature.

I really hope to collect all these
meditations in a book... Meanwhile I think now, more than ever, these
great creatures have much to tell and so any suggestion to get in
touch with nature is more necessary than ever... so enjoy the
communication with Nature.

After all, Nature is an open source for everyone.

I would suggest to close any experience of contact with Trees and Mother Earth, thanking for the time dedicated, for the life that they offer through oxygen, for the warmth they give us through their bodies and for everything that they make it possible offering their lives for us... the little children of the Earth.

If you can, imagine even to offer a gift from the heart after each contact! Everybody love gifts after all, even the Trees!

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This song is to the Earth... Lyrics by Michael Roads... That man makes me free to open my heart to the humankind.

The lyrics of the song are by Michael J. Roads, Australian author of
spiritual books, and the music is by Nanne Kalma from The Netherlands. The clip was made by Hanny Tromp.

STANDING PEOPLE

“The trees are called Standing People because they are our teachers. They do not walk about like human beings, but they do hold the energy of the Earth and Sky. The roots of the trees go deep into our Mother Earth, and their branches reach for the sunlight high in the sky. These teachers of the woods show humankind how to balance the male and female energies present in every human being. Through their example, we can learn how to give and receive. The trees are firmly grounded in the Earth and are reaching for the heaves with their branches, showing human beings how to be bridges between the tangible and non-tangible worlds. The balance of demonstrative and receptive is found in the heart of humans and in the trunk of trees.

These living examples of balance allow humankind to discover the flow of life force that brings inner peace. It is circular and flows up through the roots to the tops of the branches, traveling down to the roots again, creating a recycling of energy.”

Jamie Sams, Earth Medicine

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

HAVE YOU HUGGED AN HEALER TREE TODAY?

by Isabella Guerrini

Restoration druids, commonly known as trees, have the potential to be excellent healers. With a wide array of spells, they are an excellent group heal, the abilities of trees have a lot going for us. This article aims to suggest you how to get the most healing out of healer tree.

Sacred trees with healing powers are found in almost every culture and age. They are seen as a gift from the Earth Goddess and a source of her continuing healing of those who come to the tree or sacred grove.

In India sacred trees are visited by petitioners seeking blessings, especially for health and fertility, from the indwelling spirit or deity who is usually regarded as female and a manifestation of the Earth Goddess. Food and flowers are left at the foot of the tree or shrine and ribbons of cloth or coloured wish bags are tied to the tree.In Africa among the Northern Sotho people, the sacred Marula tree is known as the marriage tree. A woman who wishes to conceive a boy will drink the infused bark of the male tree. In many parts of Africa women still carry bark from sacred trees to make them fertile.In the folk tradition of Europe until the beginning of the twentieth century, trees were likewise attributed magical healing powers. For example children were passed nine toes though the cleft in an ash tree and the branches then bound together as a symbol of the healing process.

The Celtic Druids worshipped not in temples, but in groves of trees. These natural woodland sites may have predated the Celts. Those that have been identified are frequently centred on a convergence of earth energies. In former Celtic groves in Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Ireland and Cornwall the trees are still adorned with ribbons, trinkets and petitions for healing and blessings.

The Australian Aborigines used healing remedies from trees such as tea tree and eucalyptus centuries before they entered more conventional medicine Tea tree leaves were inhaled by the Aborigines to prevent nasal, throat and chest congestion and ground into a paste to relieve burns and skin infections.But every tree is a powerful source of spiritual healing that can help your own immune system to fight any illness or sorrow. Because trees are rooted so firmly in the earth, receive water through the roots and from the rain and light from the sun, they are an enduring source of earth healing in the most concrete of squares in a city centre.

You can sit against a tree in a forest that may be hundreds or even thousand years old. Yews can live more than two thousand years and some oaks a thousand years old. A lot of accumulated power and wisdom. In woodlands or a local arboretum, look for a circle of trees that can become your own sacred grove.You may find your special tree that feels right for you in your local park or in your garden. The following method is one I use not only as part of my private work but as a stressed and working woman even when I feel unwell, unloved and unlovely. Trees and their specific healing powers you can absorb spiritually just by being close to them. But as I said any tree will help to ease pain whether physical or emotional and restore well-being.You do not have to sit in the traditional cross-legged sitting position to meditate under a tree. In fact, yoga is considered a form of meditation by some. Others find a walk in nature to be a form of meditation. I have found that when I do meridian tapping that I have a similar sensation as when I meditate. You are likely to find an increase in your energy levels, an increase in your ability to focus and concentrate, a release of tension in your body and a sense of peace. Deep breathing during meditation or talking under a tree increases the oxygen supply just as yoga does. To be more closer to a trees it also helps make attention to your breath and relax you, moreover may lower your heart rate to.You can develop your intuition as you continue to practice meditation with trees and as you begin to uncover the connection to God, the Divine, Spirit, the Universe, or whatever or whoever you want to connect with.You can spend five minutes a day meditating under a tree or you can meditate in a forest from dawn to dusk. It really is up to you and what feels right to you. There is no right or wrong when it comes to meditation. If you think you would like guided tree meditation, check out the guided meditations below.You can use some meditations to talk with Trees, there are only suggestions to contact these great living beings… to enjoy yourself and be still with Nature. Here you can find one of the methods to have meditation to talk with Trees or asking Trees for help or heal you.A tree is an interesting entity in the realm of creation and in the realm of nature. It is a living being, an energy form that, more than any another, records within itself the knowledge and history of its surrounding environment.A tree begins from seed, embodied within which is its own original energy. But then it amasses itself and its mature energy from the environment around it.The trees are the books of time, just as their wood may provide fodder for the books of mankind, so, too, does the environment provide fodder for the books of the trees. The trees are like braille waiting to be read, like a musical recording waiting to be played.The trees are all-absorbing, whether good or bane, and do not judge what is to be left behind or discarded from what is to be retained and preserved. The trees stand for lengths of time, comparable, but often longer and more robust than those stood by man.Just as the tree’s rings can be read to discern the history of the environment and the weather patterns, so, too, can the tree’s energy be read to discern the history of human development in their life spans and even before, as they are informed by the ancient dirt from which they grow. Ask a tree on a battlefield for the truth of the battle, ask a tree on a Lovers Lane the truth of romances past. The trees are impartial, but feeling, taking their very bark and internal fluid of life from the air, ground, rain and energy of the living environment around them. Many annals of human life are recorded within the sentient and sacred trees.So it is that the scrolls of the Akashic can often be more easily touched in this world and on this plane by the simple knowing of a tree, ancient and wise.Meditation with a Tree by Isabella GuerriniPlace oneself at the foot of an ancient tree, whether physically or mentally.Begin with slow, deep breaths.Do not focus on the world outside, but, instead, close one’s eyes and follow the path of the breath as it rushes into the mouth, flows down the throat and fills the lungs. Follow its swirl there and its easy and cleansing path back out from within.Do this several times until you feel yourself calmed and focused.Lean back against the literal or metaphorical tree which you have chosen.Tune in and feel its energy mingle with yours, acceptingly and peacefully, without expectation.Imagine yourself to have roots, growing from your bottom and reaching into the rich, fertile ground of Mother Earth.Feel, at the same time, ethereal roots of sparkling energy extended from the top of your head and connectimg you with the bright, spiritual ground of the cosmos above you.Breath deep and let the energy from each flow through you to meet one another at your core.Use this conduit to pull energy from above and pass it through to the roots below.Do the same again, pulling energy from the roots below and passing it through to the etehreal roots above.Say aloud: As above, so below.Feel yourself to be one with the tree, you within it and it within you.Say words of welcome and words of greeting to the tree.Give it honor for its beauty and strength.Now, having reached a balance with this living tree creature, you are free to ask it questions.Trees are more apt to answer questions about the self, the wise path, about energy work and about the human past, specifically the human connection to the divine.When you have finished your tree work, thank your sibling tree for its wisdoms and energy.Ask it if you may come to it again another time. Give it honor and say your farewells.Breath deep and balance in your center.As you are breathing in, see your roots being drawn back down from above and carrying their energy back into your self.Do the same for the roots below.When you are whole and contained again, balance your inner self and then stand.Leave a gift at the base of the tree. (You may do this by pouring a glass of water or leaving a strand of your own hair or creating a cloud of light from the heart like a fine mist of color that you feel most appropriate for the time being, as a token of kinship and of thanks)

For a little bit of inspiration and some great visuals of ancient trees, read also some of the following fantastic books:

The beginnings of this technique were taught to me in the open. Each step was introduced at a later date, so that by the time I reached each following step, I'd been practising the previous for some time. I would encourage you to do the same - it is probably much better to have a good grasp of each part in turn, building your experience and understanding bit by bit, rather than try to rush in and grasp the whole thing at once. Anyway the practice is key.

This is by far one of the most fundamental and essential techniques I have been taught. It allows a very physical and primal way of feeling my roots - my physicality and presence (or present-ness) on the earth, while allowing me to acknowledge my connections to the things around me.

Begin by sitting down. Preferably on the floor, but just sitting down will do. Relax, and feel where the ground holds you. Feel heavy. Feel where you touch the ground, and where the energy of the ground - its gravity - gives you weight and solidity. Feel it around you, when you move your body, feel where it moves downwards where there isn't any effort at all, where your weight is held naturally. Then notice your breath. We naturally relax on the outbreath. As you notice the pattern of your breathing, feel your outbreath as a letting go, and as you breathe out each time, feel yourself breathing downwards - your weight settling down each time.

The next step requires that you employ your imagination a little. As you continue to use your breath as a tool to focussing downwards, with each outbreath, feel your roots grow. Do this as a relaxation, rather than as a push of growth. We grow naturally when we are asleep, rather than when we expend effort, and this is how to grow roots - just by relaxing downwards. Start by feeling just one root grow - a tap root, perhaps. Let this find its depth, maybe curling around rocks, maybe encountering other things in the earth beneath you. Then grow one or two more - maybe growing out from your tap root, or perhaps exploring different directions. Remember throughout that your breathing is key to your root-growing. Relax your growth through your outbreath.

When you feel secure with your roots - perhaps with them spread out around you, like a beech tree, or perhaps with one strong tap root and just a few others, you can start to use your inbreath. As trees draw upwards, they take nourishment from the earth, and so it is with your inbreath. Still remembering to relax downwards with the outbreath, use the inbreath to start to breathe nourishment up your root system, and into your body. You might find it helpful to breathe to a count, but I find it most useful just to breathe as naturally as possible and feel the breath, and the nourishment rising like sap, as fully as I can.

The meditation so far can be used as a powerful way of centering yourself on its own. However, the next steps can be used to integrate yourself into your environment..

Once you're comfortable with the sap rising within you, giving you new energy, you can begin to use the energy to grow a canopy. Here's where you'll really become aware of what kind of tree you might be. Start small at first, just growing small shoots. Remember that you only need to grow on the outbreath, keeping the sap rising in you on your inbreath. If you feel like it, you can grow bigger branches, maybe leaves, maybe even blossom, if you really feel like it. You may just feel like a small winter blackthorn, sparsely covered, and prickly. Or you might be a huge ash tree, all towering and tall.

When you've grown all the canopy you want to, feel where you touch the things around you - where your canopy touches other things, and where your root system intertwines with other systems. As you breathe in and out, how do you interact with those things? If you're doing the meditation in a group, how do you interact with the people on either side of you?

Now thank the tree by issuing you a great pink cloud that extends to Mother Earth with love, blessing and nourishing.

When you're ready, open your eyes and acknowledge the things around you. Again, if you're in a group, actively acknowledge the people on either side of you. Move slowly and don't talk for a little while. See if you can move without shifting the root system you've created.

Variations

Some people find it difficult to practice this meditation indoors, or on floors above ground level. Personally I've never had a problem with being able to send roots into the earth from there - after all what we're using is the earth's nemeton - its energy, rather than the earth physically. However a technique you might like to try is to send roots to the edges of the building you're in, and to trail them down the outside, like ivy. This can sometimes kick the imagination into building the sense of nourishment this mediation aims to create.

Using the tree as your security symbol (use to connect with your guides or angels).

You can either sit at a real tree, or visualise a tree. It works either way.

1. See yourself facing the tree and putting your arms around the trunk to greet it,

but also, to reassure yourself that it is indeed a strong and firm leaning post that can support your weight.

2. Sit with your back to the trunk and let yourself be supported by the tree.

(You can sit against a wall and visualise it as the tree trunk if I you do this inside)

3. Identify with the tree, imagine roots coming from your legs and the bottom of your spine (tail bone) to descend deep into Mother Earth. These roots are your connection to the earth, they will help ground you and bring nourishment to you.

4. Imagine now, branches reaching up into the sky from your shoulders, and from the top of your head, reaching up and becoming one with time and space, to the Cosmic Father. (Father Sky).

Draw from the air, energy, purity and light down into your body to connect you with the Source.

5. Breathe deeply, in and out, deep, slow breaths. In and out. Breathe in whatever you need right now.... love, affection, acceptance, understanding, compassion or anything else that you need.

Feel it enter through your nose and mouth, through the breath and spread to every cell and nerve of your body.

6. Breathe from both sources... the cosmos and the earth... you may specify what you want to be given. Allow all negativity to leave your body.

Breathe out any anger, resentment, upset, disappointment or anything else which is lodged in your body now... let it all just slip away.

7. When you feel grounded. You can ask your guide to show themself/itself to you.

It may come to you in any form.

Pay attention. It could be energy, an animal, a human, an angel, a symbol or anything else.

It may even be a mythological animal such as a unicorn, dragon, or minotaur.

8. Wait, if they don't show themselves immediately it may be because they are not in physical form, or you are not ready or prepared to meet them yet.

Instead, focus on any messages you may be receiving.

Trust your intuition. There is always a purpose to this meditation, even if it's not to meet your guide.

9. Breathe deeply and allow energy to flow easily through your body. When your guide approaches you, introduce yourself. (even though they know who you are)...

You may ask their name, get to know them.

This is a learning experience, and an introductory period. Be open to whatever you receive.

10. After a while, you may like to ask them a question,

or they may have a message for you. Or there may be nothing. It could just be a "getting to know you" session and that`s fine too.

11. When you are ready to leave, thank them for being there. Accept whatever you are given, and ask them to be present with you whenever you need them. (Angels in particular like to be asked.... they need to be asked, that is how they enter and help us).

You may ask them to help you with something in particular, like a healing, or finding a job, or studying for an exam, or moving on in your life.

The options are boundless, and they're only too happy to help.

12. Now, feel yourself coming back to your body. Pull up your roots from the earth, thanking Mother Earth for her grounding and nourishment, and pull back your branches from the sky, thanking also the Cosmic Father.

Breathe deeply, and slowly and start to become aware of your surroundings..... the ground you sit on, the feel of the bark/wall against your back and your whole body, the smells, sounds and temperature around you.

13. Breathe deeply and open your eyes, becoming more aware of your surroundings and slowly stretch your limbs and body to come back to outer reality.

At this point I recommend that you write down any messages or experiences you may have had/received. Just in case you forget them and to make comparisons with further times you do this.

A tree is an interesting entity in the realm of creation and in the realm of nature. It is a living being, an energy form that, more than any another, records within itself the knowledge and history of its surrounding environment.

A tree begins from seed, embodied within which is its own original energy. But then it amasses its self and its mature energy from the environment around it.

The trees are the books of time, just as their wood may provide fodder for the books of mankind, so, too, does the environment provide fodder for the books of the trees. The trees are like braille waiting to be read, like a musical recording waiting to be played.

The trees are all-absorbing, whether good or bane, and do not judge what is to be left behind or discarded from what is to be retained and preserved. The trees stand for lengths of time, comparable, but often longer and more robust than those stood by man.

Just as the tree’s rings can be read to discern the history of the environment and the weather patterns, so, too, can the tree’s energy be read to discern the history of human development in their life spans and even before, as they are informed by the ancient dirt from which they grow. Ask a tree on a battlefield for the truth of the battle, ask a tree on a Lovers Lane the truth of romances past.

The trees are impartial, but feeling, taking their very bark and internal fluid of life from the air, ground, rain and energy of the living environment around them. Many annals of human life are recorded within the sentient and sacred trees.

So it is that the scrolls of the Akashic can often be more easily touched in this world and on this plane by the simple knowing of a tree, ancient and wise.

Meditation:

Place oneself at the foot of an ancient tree, whether physically or mentally.

Begin with slow, deep breaths.

Do not focus on the world outside, but, instead, close one’s eyes and follow the path of the breath as it rushes into the mouth, flows down the throat and fills the lungs. Follow its swirl there and its easy and cleansing path back out from within.

Do this several times until you feel yourself calmed and focused.

Lean back against the literal or metaphorical tree which you have chosen.

Tune in and feel its energy mingle with yours, acceptingly and peacefully, without expectation.

Imagine yourself to have roots, growing from your bottom and reaching into the rich, fertile ground of Mother Earth.

Feel, at the same time, ethereal roots of sparkling energy extended from the top of your head and connectimg you with the bright, spiritual ground of the cosmos above you.

Breath deep and let the energy from each flow through you to meet one another at your core.

Use this conduit to pull energy from above and pass it through to the roots below.

Do the same again, pulling energy from the roots below and passing it through to the etehreal roots above.

Say aloud: As above, so below.

Feel yourself to be one with the tree, you within it and it within you.

Say words of welcome and words of greeting to the tree.

Give it honor for its beauty and strength.

Now, having reached a balance with this living tree creature, you are free to ask it questions.

Trees are more apt to answer questions about the self, the wise path, about energy work and about the human past, specifically the human connection to the divine.

When you have finished your tree work, thank your sibling tree for its wisdoms and energy.

Ask it if you may come to it again another time. Give it honor and say your farewells.

Breath deep and balance in your center.

As you are breathing in, see your roots being drawn back down from above and carrying their energy back into your self.

Do the same for the roots below.

When you are whole and contained again, balance your inner self and then stand.

Leave a gift at the base of the tree. (You may do this by pouring a glass of water or leaving a strand of your own hair as a token of kinship and of thanks.)

For a little bit of inspiration and some great visuals of ancient trees, try either of the following fantastic books: Remarkable Trees of the World or Tree: A New Vision of the American Forest.

This exercise is to help you receive intuitive information about yourself. In meditation such as this one, your intuition is free to function on a very rich, symbolic level. It is important that you allow the images you receive to speak to you, so that you can better understand the meanings contained within the richness of the symbols. If the images wobble, come and go, or seem absolutely strange to you, you may banish them and ask your intuition to give you symbolic images that are correct and true for you. If the same images reappear, accept them and work with them, even though they may seem strange or mysterious. With time the meaning and message contained within the images will probably become clear to you. These few directions concerning the way to accept the symbols given to you by your intuition apply for all the other exercises also. By this simple working method, symbols used by your intuition translate the impulses coming from your Soul and your other subtle bodies in a more meaningful way.

Recommended time: 20 to 30 minutes

Prepare yourself by entering your sacred Cell.

Relax and take a few deep breathes exhale all the stresses out of your body and inhale the pure atmosphere of your sacred inner space. When you feel ready, anchored in your intuitive mood, centered within your sanctified space, and open and clear in mind and emotion, ask your intuitive self to present you with the image of a tree which represents your actual state of being.

You may imagine the tree appears on the intuitive screen just in front of your eyes, or you may imagine you are walking in nature and you discover this tree. The tree that you perceive may be like an actual tree or it may be a very symbolic, very imaginary tree. Accept the tree that your intuition presents to you and begin to explore it with intuitive awareness. Regard it from a distance, observing its size, its shape, and its silhouette, become aware of the environment in which the tree is located on a hill? In a forest? All alone? Next to water? Perceive the general environment of the tree, asking your intuitive self how the tree is connected to the four elements, to the earth, water, air and fire. Imagine you can examine the earth in which your tree is planted is it rich and nourishing? Or not? Does the tree receive all the water it needs? Is the air clean and pure? Does the tree have access to all the sunshine it needs? Explore the tree, the trunk, the branches, the leaves, the roots In what state do you find the tree? how do you find the posture of the tree? what type of atmosphere does this tree have? how do you feel emotionally? What do you notice about this tree that is particularly interesting, unusual, striking?Allow your intuition to guide you to explore the symbolic image of this tree, do not begin to think about the tree or the fact that it represents you. Just explore the tree with your inner senses, with your intuitive self and absorb all the impressions you receive.Ask your intuition to communicate with you, to tell you what the tree lacks grounding water sun, air, company, a view? Ask about what the tree needs for healing relocation pruning clear air, posture adjustment?

When you have received the responses to your questions, allow the image of the tree to fade, continue to meditate quietly in your sacred cell for a few more minutes, and then gently return to normal consciousness.

Write down, or even better do a drawing of the tree you have intuitively perceived. What is the message here for you about your current state of being?

The image of the tree as a reflection of the human being is a particularly rich and touching symbol with which to work. In the tree we find a simplified version of ourselves.

SYMBOLIC MAPPING OF THE TREE

The trunk of the tree represents our spine and general body, the roots represent our feet and grounding ability, and the leaves represent our relationship with the universe and light. The environment relates to the environment in which we live on a daily basis. The quality of the earth speaks to us about the fundamental nourishing quality of our everyday existence - the quality of the food we eat, the work we do, the place we live. The presence or lack of adequate water indicates the quality of emotional nourishment we experience in our lives. Too much water can be as damaging as not enough, and changes may need to be made to find the balance, to find the correct dose. The quality of air is related to mental stimulation, movement and change. Not enough air, or polluted air, can indicate that the environment is not suitable for mental growth and intellectual creativity because of a stifling effect. Too much air (a strong breeze or wind), can indicate a lack of protection, overexposure, and the need to create a more sheltered environment where the energies are less dispersed. The presence or absence of sun relates to the quality of spiritual nourishment in life.

The following is a guided meditation that was written for us by the good people over at The Meditation Den. If you are interested in learning more about meditation including guides, questions and answers, and other helpful advice then be sure to visit them.

This particular meditation is called The Great Tree Meditation. It is a good exercise for anyone whether they are a beginner or more advanced. During the course of this meditative exercise you will be releasing negative emotions and drawing in positive, creative energy so if you find yourself feeling emotional do not worry, that is certainly not uncommon.

As with any meditation make sure that you are somewhere peaceful where you won’t be disturbed for the duration of the exercise. If you are disturbed or distracted then you can either start again or continue from where you left off if you feel able to slip back into it.

Lets begin.

The classic meditation position.

To begin get yourself in a comfortable position. While the lotus is the “classic” position for meditation, if this is uncomfortable for you then you can sit with your legs stretched out or site on a chair, or even lie down on a bed or sofa. The important thing is that you are comfortable and your back is straight, allowing for proper breathwork.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing, allowing your muscles to relax and release any tension they may hold. Breathe deeply through your stomach so that it fully expands on inhalation and contracts to its normal size on exhalation.

Experience the sensations that breathing brings. The coldness of the air as you inhale, and the warmth as you exhale. The air hitting the roof of your throat as it travels into your lungs.

When you feel ready begin to focus on the points where your body is in contact with whatever is underneath it, be it floor, sofa, bed, etc. Imagine now that these points are your roots. Allow your roots to burrow deep, deep into the earth core – the heart of nature itself. You are part of nature. You are nature.

As you exhale you are pushing out any blocked emotions and negativity you may hold, passing to earth so that it can heal you. And when you inhale you are breathing in a pure white light up through your roots that provides you with positive, healing energy.

When you are ready begin to focus on the crown of your head. It is the head that houses the brain, and the brain which houses the mind, and the mind that houses your powers of creativity. Just as your roots burrowed down deep into the earth, now visualize branches full of lush green leaves sprouting from your head up high into the sky. The golden sun is shinning upon you.

Now inhalation brings with it a new creative fire, new ideas and passion reinvigorated all passed down from the sun. As you exhale you are releasing any creative blocks that your mind has been holding up into the sky, letting them float away.

You are now the Great Tree with deep roots to the earth and strong branches with beautiful leaves touching the sky. When you breathe in now you are enjoying the full benefits of being the Spirit Tree. You receive the creative energy from the sun and the emotional healing energy from the earth. And when you breathe out you are pushing away the negativity and mental blocks that stop you from being the divine self.

This is a meditation that will bring healing to the physical body as well as stimulate emotional release and well being...

This meditation is best done in a quiet place. If you can sit upright do so, otherwise laying down will work as well.

You are going to be a tree. Visualize your body as a large tree. A mighty Oak, a majestic Maple, a beautiful Walnut, a towering Cottonwood, pick any tree that you care too. You are a tree, complete with full branches crowned with leaves, a solid sturdy trunk and deep strong roots.

Feel this tree as your body, they are one. It is a warm sunny day, the Sun is gentle but firm upon your leaves and branches. Feel the heat of the Sun on the crown of your tree. The warmth feels like the Sun on your face and arms in summer. See this energy as a golden light. Let the Sun send you this golden light and let it fill your leaves and branches. Feel this golden light start to warm you. Let the Sun fill you completely with this golden energy. When you are totally filled with the golden light all the way out to the tips of your branches and fingers, all the way down your trunk, down into your roots and legs, then thank the Sun for giving you its healing love that is the gold light.

Next, turn your attention to your roots, this deep base that keeps you grounded in Mother Earth. Feel the damp coolness of the Earth around your roots, just like digging your toes into the moist earth. Feel this cooling as an offering of Healing Love from Mother Earth. Ask her to send her healing energy to you. See this healing energy as an emerald green liquid. Pull this healing liquid up through your roots just like sucking on a straw. Feel this cooling energy start to fill your trunk body. Let it rise all the way up into your branches and crown. Sense and feel the mingling of the Suns gold light with this emerald green healing energy from the Earth. Feel the healing, the balance of both healing energies within all of your body. Let it bring release and the healing that you need.

When you have been able to do this, thank both the Sun and the Earth for helping you to heal. This is done out of Love. Remember, Love is the strongest force in the Universe. This meditation will indeed bring you both Healing and Love when you accept it through your Heart.

The Sacred Tree Meditation is a great daily practice or a beautiful way to begin any ritual. The intention of the meditation is to cultivate a connection to Spirit (whatever that means to you), and to use that connection to guide you in everything you do. For partnered ritual, you will begin with both giver and receiver connecting individually to the divine polarities (masculine and feminine), then begin to breathe and connect your energy bodies to each other.

Begin by sitting comfortably in easy pose, zen pose or any way that is natural for you and that allows your spine to be straight. Take a deep breath, filling your belly with air and allowing your lungs to touch the east and west edges of your rib cage.

Continue breathing deeply and focus on letting go of any stress or negativity from the day and letting in nurturing energy. On an inhalation, feel your perineum, the space between your genitals and your anus, "open" up as if it were growing roots.

On an exhalation imagine sending your roots directly into the earth–through the floor, through the soil, deep into the earth, all the way to the magnetic core of the Earth, the very heart of the divine feminine.

Inhale and breath the earth’s unconditional love up through your body, clearing away blocks and negative emotions as you go. Exhale to release anger, fear, pain, and other negative emotions. and feel Mother Earth taking these emotions and transmuting them it into healing nutrients for the planet.

Now take your awareness to the top of your head, and with your next inhalation, feel the top of your head, your crown chakra, opening up like a flower. Exhale, and imagine you are growing branches from the top of your head into the sun or stars. As you connect to this heavenly fire, feel your connection to the Sky Father. Breathe out to release distracting thoughts out through your branches and imagine them burning up in solar or star fire. Breathe in and imagine divine masculine warmth, strength, and light coming down into your head.

Become a great tree with leaves and branches connecting all the way to the sun or stars, and roots all the way down deep into the earth. Continue the inhalations and exhalations until your roots and branches are strongly connected to the earth and sky.

On your next inhalation, bring up earth mother energy and bring down sky father energy simultaneously. Allow the energies to mix and mingle inside your heart. After a few breaths, move that energy down through your arms and hands. Feel the warm tingling and relish the mixture of mother and father energy in your body.

If you are doing this meditation in partnership, at this point shift your focus to connecting energetically with your partner. Have the active partner lead this exercise by intertwining his/her roots and branches with the receptive partner. Take deep, cleansing breaths and feel your energy connection with your partner, noticing how you feel pulled toward each other, like two magnets.

Now you are ready to move into whatever physical connection is comfortable for both of you. Communicate clearly with each other about your boundaries and your comfort zones as you move into sacred sexual and energetic connection.

Shamanic shape-shifting visualizations need not be limited to animal forms. Experiencing the form of a tree can bring a unique feeling and perspective into your life.

The most ideal way to begin is to stand outside, bare feet upon bare earth, near running water such as a stream or river. Choose the exact spot which feels the most right to you. Stand up straight, eyes closed. Use whatever technique you might know to clear your mind of distracting thoughts. When you have brought yourself to a sufficently receptive state, you may then proceed.

Bring your awareness to your feet. Visualize them becoming the base of your trunk. Your toes spread and extend, becoming roots which slowly but surely penetrate the ground in all directions around you and downward. Additional roots spread from all sides of what once were your feet. Feel the texture of the earth as your roots wend their way more and more deeply into its rich soil. If there are stones, or even boulders, buried within the ground, let your roots deftly find there way around them. Feel the nurturing moisture that your roots are reaching for, and especially concentrate your root development wherever you find it. Grow your roots well into the ground until you have established an amazingly strong, interwoven bond with the Earth. Now take some time to allow your awareness to fully imbibe this sensation.

When you feel ready, begin to let your awareness reach back up from the ground. Feel your legs fusing together into a single trunk as the transformation into living wood slowly but steadily spreads all the way up through your torso. Feel the solid strength which arises within you, a strength which resists the pull of any wind yet still allows just enough flexibility to bend and sway with it as needed. Feel your skin turning into a thick yet comfortably pliant layer of bark, protecting you like living clothing.

Feel your arms and head become the large main branches spreading outward and upward from your central trunk. Spread them all around and above you so that all the smaller branches and leaves which sprout everywhere from them, in all sorts of patterns, can catch every ray of sun that you can reach. Keep growing, becoming larger and larger until you can provide cooling shade for all creatures who seek it. Stretch to feel your leaves absorbing the sun’s light and warmth and energy.

Feel every breeze whispering around and through you, gently swaying your branches and flickering your leaves. You are aware of every breath of air, every cloud passing overhead, every bird which stops to rest upon your living twigs, every squirrel vaulting acrobatically through your lofty heights.

Feel the power of the countless years dedicated to achieving the fullness and greatness of your new form. For the years carry a true and unfathomable power, and nothing else living stands as long and as tall as a tree. Take some time to let this feeling completely fill you from your deepest rootlets to the tips of your highest leaves. You are the World Tree standing at the center of all things.

When you feel you have come to the fullness and completeness of your experience as a living tree, and once you are ready, you may now begin to return to your original form. Slowly become aware of yourself as a breathing human being, and when you feel your bare human feet upon the bare earth once again, gently lower your arms and open your eyes. Feel the vibrational responses from all the objects and living things around you to the energetic form of a tree which seemed to have been standing for untold years right on the spot where you as a human now stand. Gently and respectfully step away from that spot and re-enter your normal life, taking with you all that you have gained from this experience.

This is a profound meditation based on a 5,000 year old tantra text described by Osho in “The Book of the Secrets,” sutra 106.

The sutra reads: “Feel the consciousness of each person as your own consciousness. So, leaving aside concern for self, become each being.”

Osho suggests first trying this technique with trees or other forms because with people fear may arise in the beginning.

Osho says: “You will be less afraid of a tree so it will be easier. Sitting near a tree, just feel the tree and feel that you have become one with it, that there is a flow within you, a communication, a dialogue, a melting…”

This meditation is about feeling the consciousness of the tree simply and directly in a state of silence and receptivity. So this meditation is not about channelling, receiving messages, but something more direct and profound.

You may sit or lie down for this meditation. Allow yourself to be in as state of relaxed awareness.

So, here is the transcript, please use it freely and let us know about your experience.

“Be in a protected energy field with the tree.

Allow all noises, sounds or sights to be distant and to fade to the periphery of your consciousness.

Begin to feel the consciousness of the tree.

Feel the consciousness of the tree…

Feel its physical presence, its form, its roots, its trunk, its bark, its branches, its leaves…

Feel the tree’s roots reaching into the earth, holding the tree steady and also absorbing nourishment from the earth, taking in water and minerals…

Feel its trunk, the tree standing…

Feel the branches reaching into the sky…

Feel the air surrounding the tree and the light upon the tree…

Begin to go deeper…

Become conscious of the life energy and consciousness of the tree.

Feel the tree’s aliveness

Feel the tree’s consciousness…

The tree’s consciousness is not a human consciousness, but its own consciousness…

It is the consciousness and presence of the tree…

Feel your consciousness opening, expanding to include the consciousness of the tree…

Welcome the tree’s consciousness, find your own consciousness is expanding into the tree’s consciousness…

For the time being put aside your human mind and simply feel the consciousness of the tree…

Feel the tree’s consciousness in you.

Put aside your own consciousness, that is put aside for now any personal thoughts, emotions, feelings or sensations…

Let your mind and thought processes be silent and fade into the background…

And allow the consciousness of the tree with its feelings and awareness to arise in you…

Experience the tree…

Merge with the tree…

(period of silence)

Avoid thinking, any interpretations or judgements, rather let your experience of the tree be pure and direct…

Be open and available to experience what ever the tree is experiencing in its consciousness…

(period of silence)

Allow this presence of the tree to be even deeper…

Allow the full feeling and experience of the tree’s consciousness…

Remain with the tree in very close contact…

(period of silence)

You might notice how this awareness of the pure presence and feelings of the tree creates a circle with you and the tree…

You might notice that the tree also feels your presence in its consciousness…

You might feel that the tree also welcomes your consciousness and presence…

You may feel in this circle of energy that you are being showered with energy from the sky…

You may feel the strength of the earth, feeling deeply rooted…

(period of silence)

There is a circle of energy, the consciousness of the tree and you merging, you and the tree are one…

(period of silence)

Remain in silent communion with the tree…

(period of silence)

Remain here and now with no thoughts or projections…

(period of silence)

Remain present and see how the tree also rejoices in your presence. Feel the tree’s presence in your expanded consciousness…

(period of silence)

Remain present to all that is happening in this expanded consciousness, the merging of you and the tree…

(period of silence)

Continue to feel the tree’s consciousness…

(period of silence)

Experience in consciousness the life consciousness of the tree experiencing form, feelings and sensations…

(period of silence)

Now notice all that is happening within awareness…

(period of silence)

And slowly, very slowly, you begin to come back, remaining in communion with the tree and its consciousness…

Perhaps there are feelings of tenderness, love, appreciation or thankfulness that arise…

And you may want to express to the tree any of these feelings of love or appreciation…

(a few minutes of silence)

You may express in any way that feels right and appropriate now your feelings of gratitude…

You allow your self to say adieu, goodbye for now and at the same time to accept any gifts from the tree…

(a few minutes of silence)

As you come back more and more now to your human consciousness, you know that your experience with the tree is complete in itself…

(a few moments to assimilate your experience, then coming back to a more active, awakened state, or, if you chose, to rest or even sleep)

Allow your self to come back, feeling your body, aware of your breathing, aware of any sensations in your human body… Be present to your own human form. And you may then open your eyes and come back…

Or, if you wish to rest, to absorb this experience, you may also relax and rest now…

2 comments:

Until recently considered taboo amongst polite society, healing meditation is featuring more and more in the ideals of the young and upwardly mobile. Since it was first compared to antidisestablishmentarianism much has been said concerning healing meditation by socialists, who are likely to form a major stronghold in the inevitable battle for hearts and minds. At the heart of the subject are a number of key factors. I plan to examine each of these factors in detail and and asses their importance.